The Zionist Movement in the United States (5/10)
It is evident from the annual
conferences of the American Jewish Committee attended by prominent American,
Jewish, and Israeli figures, including former U.S. presidents, ministers, and
members of Congress that the Committee uses these gatherings to define its
programs and political policies, which are then circulated to politicians, the
media, and other organizations.
The Committee’s Intellectual and Media
Role
The Committee is regarded as an
intellectual reservoir (a think tank) for pro-Israel activity. It prepares
studies and conducts public opinion polls on a wide range of issues especially
antisemitism as well as to gauge trends in American public opinion during
crises or controversial issues affecting Israel, such as the Lebanon War, the
Intifada, and the sale of weapons to Arab states.
The organization maintains a broad
network of journals, publications, and memoranda, among the most important of
which are Commentary, its most renowned periodical, and Present Tense.
It also publishes an annual volume known as the American Jewish Year book,( AJYB)
which is considered a comprehensive reference on the life of the Jewish
community in North America.
In addition, the Committee issues
publications and memoranda tied to specific occasions through its various
departments and divisions. These materials present the Committee’s positions on
current events and issues, and some are distributed to the media, politicians,
organizations representing minorities and women’s groups, labor unions,
churches, and members and supporters of the American Jewish Committee.
Support for Israel and Attacking Its
Critics
An examination of the Committee’s
journals and publications reveals its hardline positions on Middle East issues.
Commentary magazine, which once leaned toward liberalism and is now
considered a platform for neoconservatism in the United States, calls in its
pages for U.S. military intervention in the Gulf as a solution to the energy
crisis, and argues that Israeli strategy should be based on nuclear weapons. It
also attacks Jewish individuals and organizations that criticize Israel, such
as Breira and Americans for Peace
The Committee strongly endorsed the
Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It also opposes the Arab boycott, warning of its
economic dangers, and attacks arms deals with Arab states, such as the sale of
AWACS aircraft to Saudi Arabia (1981). Many of the Committee’s publications and
memoranda present the official positions of the Israeli government on issues
related to the Middle East.
Points of Disagreement and Tension
Between the Committee and Israel
This, however, does not mean the
absence of tension and disagreement between the American Jewish Committee and
other Jewish organizations on the one hand, and Israel on the other especially
during the rule of Likud. Certain Israeli government policies caused embarrassment
to members of the Jewish community and provoked their dissatisfaction, such as
the Sabra and Shatila massacres during the Lebanon War; the case of the spy
Pollard, which raised the issue of dual loyalty among American Jews; Israel’s
involvement in the Iran Contra affair; its handling of the Palestinian
Intifada; and issues related to weapons.
In 1980, the Committee issued a
document criticizing Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank and Gaza, and
warning of the impact of that policy on Israel’s image.
The American Jewish Committee
(affiliated with the National Community Relations Advisory Council) has also
sponsored important scientific and social studies beyond programs specifically
related to Israel, and it participates in interfaith dialogues. It has
contributed to the establishment of a number of research institutes and study
centers. The American Jewish Committee is a tax-exempt organization with
offices in Israel, France, Brazil, and Mexico.
The American Jewish Congress
An American Jewish organization that
emerged from the first American Jewish Congress, held in Philadelphia in 1918,
with the aim of protecting the religious and civil rights of Jewish communities
within the United States and abroad, combating all forms of discrimination
against them, and supporting the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in
Palestine.
The Division Within the Jewish Community Over the Idea of the Congress
The idea of establishing the Congress
dates back to 1915, when Louis Brandeis, Stephen Wise, and other American Jews either
Zionists or sympathizers of Zionism led the call to form an American Jewish
Congress. The aim was to create an umbrella body with a democratic and national
character, composed of existing Jewish organizations, as an alternative to the
American Jewish Committee, which had been criticized for its elitist,
anti-democratic structure, and its opposition to Zionism.
The Congress supported the idea of
establishing American Zionist organizations and sympathetic Jewish groups,
representing the masses of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who were
influenced by Zionism and the notions of Jewish peoplehood and nationalism.
This idea, however, was opposed by another group of Jewish organizations, led
by the American Jewish Committee, which represented the assimilated American
Jewish bourgeoisie of German origin.
The Congress was eventually formed
only after it was agreed that it would be temporary, with a specific purpose:
to send a delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference. It works
to ensure the rights of Jewish communities and those of other minorities in
peace treaties.
It also sought recognition of the
aspirations and historical claims of the Jewish people (with regard to
Palestine) in accordance with the Balfour Declaration and advocated for the
transformation of Palestine into a Jewish commonwealth, with the understanding
that the Congress would be dissolved afterward. However, supporters of the
American Jewish Congress succeeded in turning it into a permanent organization in
1922 under the leadership of Rabbi Stephen Wise, though it never became a
broad-based umbrella body as its founders had envisioned, serving as an
alternative to the American Jewish Committee.
The Rise of the American Jewish Congress and Its Growing Popularity
(1930s–1940s)
The American Jewish Congress gained
widespread popularity among Jewish masses during the 1930s and 1940s. It led
campaigns and demonstrations against Nazism and participated in organizing the
trade boycott of German goods and services. The Congress also condemned the
British White Paper of 1939 and played a key role in organizing the 1943
American Jewish Congress, which approved the principle of a Jewish commonwealth
in Palestine.
It spearheaded efforts to establish
the World Jewish Congress in 1936 and worked until 1948 to promote the Zionist
cause in the American arena. It is also important to note the role played by
Stephen Wise in preventing an organized and spontaneous Jewish boycott of
German goods until the Haavara Agreement was signed between the settler Zionists and the Nazi
regime
The 1983 Congress Agenda: Strategy for Defending Israel and Confronting
the Arabs
After World War II and the
establishment of the Zionist state, the American Jewish Congress focused most
of its attention on civil rights and liberties in the United States, becoming
increasingly concerned with issues affecting poor Jewish communities, African
Americans, and other social and political matters of interest to the American
liberal movement.
The Congress continued to defend
Israel, although this commitment diminished as it engaged with other sectarian
and domestic issues. The 1983 Congress program emphasized the need to
strengthen U.S. support for Israel’s security needs, counter Arab propaganda,
portray Arabs as obstacles to peace, oppose the Arab boycott, combat
antisemitism, and work toward facilitating the emigration of Soviet Jews.
Attacking Critics of Israel and Supporters of the Palestinian Cause
The American Jewish Congress promotes
Israel within political and media circles and emphasizes Israel’s importance to
vital U.S. strategic interests. The Congress runs programs to encourage tourism
to Israel and arranges visits for American officials. Its programs also include
organizing dialogue seminars between American and Israeli Jews, featuring
prominent political and cultural figures from both sides.
The American Jewish Congress works
closely with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations in preparing many Middle East memoranda and public statements. It
also attacks Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and groups sympathetic to the
Palestinian cause, such as the National Council of Churches, Noam Chomsky, and
the American Friends Service Committee.
Promoting the Arab Threat Narrative
It also promotes the idea of an Arab
threat and Arab oil control over the United States, and collaborates with the
Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee to push Congress to
approve legislation against the Arab boycott. However, the American Jewish
Congress is considered one of the American Jewish organizations least inclined
to adjust its positions to suit Israeli interests when these conflict with its
liberal principles and policies. For example, the Congress refused to ally with
the new Christian (Evangelical) right in the United States, which supports and
backs Israel a step taken by other Jewish organizations.
Legal Status: Tax-Exempt Religious Organization
The American Jewish Congress is
registered as a tax-exempt religious organization, which exempts it from filing
a public annual report. Its membership ranges between 40,000 and 50,000
individuals. In 1938, the Congress shifted from organizational membership to
individual membership. It is a founder and member of the National Community
Relations Advisory Council and holds a biennial conference attended by
prominent Israeli and American figures.
Its publications include Judaism,
a quarterly journal focusing on scholarly Jewish research, and Congress
Monthly, the Congress’s monthly magazine, which publishes general articles
with particular attention to Israel-related topics and the activities of the
Jewish community in the United States.
___________________________________________
Source: Encyclopedia of the Jews, Judaism, and Zionism
______________________________________________
You may also like:
The Zionist Movement in the United States (3/10)
The Zionist Movement in the United States (4/10)
The intellectual foundation of Zionist racism against Jews and Arabs (1 - 4)
_______________________________________
